UK Docks wins £250m Royal Navy contract to service five more vessels

UK Docks is celebrating today after winning a £250m order from the Royal Navy which is set to create more than 100 new jobs.

The company currently services HMS Protector, the Royal Navy’s only icebreaker, at its dry docks on the River Tees but will now go on to service five more vessels over the next eight years under the new contract.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed this morning that the in-service support for HMS Tamar, HMS Spey, HMS Medway, HMS Trent and HMS Forth will be undertaken by UK Docks up until 2031.

And with the vessels operating persistently worldwide in the South Atlantic, North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Indo-Asia Pacific, it means the South Shields-headquartered company will operate globally to ensure the maximum efficiency of the Royal Navy vessels.

The contract represents another huge win against stiff competition for UK Docks, which, in 2018 won a £150m, 10-year contract with the navy to service several of its smaller vessels.

That original contract was a huge step forward for a company originally founded by redundant ex-Swan Hunters’ worker Harry Wilson in a single boat repair yard in South Shields in 1995.

And this week’s new £250m deal takes UK Docks Marine Services to a higher level again.

UK Docks’ managing director Jonathan Wilson, Harry’s son, said: “We are delighted to have secured this new contract, which is the culmination of several years’ work showing UK Docks can deliver the highest standards of service and professionalism the Royal Navy requires for the maintenance of its vessels.

“To have been selected by the Ministry of Defence to support and maintain these five vessels ahead of some of the most historic and prestigious companies operating in this sector is an honour and a responsibility that we are very much aware of.

“The new contract is also a vote of confidence in UK Docks’ management and workforce and a recognition of the services that we have provided to the MoD over the last two decades.

“We see the awarding of this contract to UK Docks as a resounding vote of confidence in homegrown British industry, skills and capability and we look forward to putting those resources at the service of these five important vessels.” 

The five ships are offshore patrol vessels, designed to be deployed globally and to carry out duties include humanitarian support, maritime defence and anti-piracy, counter-terrorism and anti-smuggling measures - tasks that had previously been conducted by frigates and destroyers.

At  90 metres long - roughly the length of two Olympic-size swimming pools - they are equipped with a 30mm cannon and flight deck capable of accommodating a Merlin helicopter, a range of more than 5,500 nautical miles and a top speed of more than 20 knots.

The first three - Forth, Medway and Trent - were built by BAE Systems shipyards on the River Clyde in Glasgow - Forth replaced HMS Clyde as the Falkland Islands guardship in

2019, Medway was deployed as the long-term Atlantic Patrol Task (North) ship in the Caribbean in 2020 and Trent was deployed to the Mediterranean in 2020 and is now permanently based in Gibraltar.

HMS Tamar and HMS Spey entered service in 2020 and 2021 respectively and are both on long-term deployment in the Indo-Asia Pacific region.

Jonathan explained: “Because of their long-term deployment overseas, it means UK Docks’ staff will be doing a lot of travelling abroad to carry out inspections and oversee maintenance, updates and improvements.

“It’s a logistically demanding job but once that we are very much capable of as a team and which we are very much looking forward to beginning.

“The new contract will create dozens of jobs here, based primarily in South Shields in the north east and Gosport on the south coast.

“We also expect well over 100 sub-contractor roles to be created to provide the capability and availability of support needed at reach to fulfil the contract where we will deliver remote support, technical, logistical  and design agent services and management.”

The Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, said of the deal: “Working closely with our industry partners, we are securing a future for these versatile and important Royal Navy ships, delivering on our promises for UK prosperity and sustained UK presence overseas. 

“The project will also ensure more than 100 UK jobs are supported, contributing to the vibrant health of our shipbuilding industry.”

HMS Protector Returns to Teesside

Pictured above: UK Docks’ founder Harry Wilson with son and director Jonathan Wilson and operations manager Stephen Lee, welcome Commodore Phillip Waterhouse and HMS Protector Captain Michael Wood MBE to Teesside.

Record-breaking trials by the Royal Navy’s only icebreaker, HMS Protector, have been credited to the superb work done by UK Docks on Teesside last year in a £14m refit.

The ship has just returned from successful trials in the Arctic in which it broke ice further north than any Royal Navy vessel since the 1970s.

And on its way to its next mission – a fourth-month deployment to Antarctica, 10,000 miles away – HMS Protector has made a brief return to Teesside, holding a civic reception on board to celebrate the good work UK Docks has been carrying out on Royal Navy vessels on the River Tees over the past two years.

The Tyneside-based company signed a £150m, 10-year contract with the navy to service and repair the country’s survey fleet – HMS Protector and sister ships HMS Enterprise and HMS Echo.

Captain Michael Wood MBE, the commanding officer of HMS Protector, told guests: “I take my hat off to UK Docks for the work that they have done on the ship.

“The vessel is 20 years old, so it’s not a new ship, and last year the team at UK Docks worked for many months giving her a complete refit and overhaul which has left her in as good a condition as she has ever been in.

“We really put Protector’s ice-breaking capabilities to the test in the Arctic and were delighted to go further into the polar cap than any of our vessels has done in decades.”

Among the guests were UK Docks’ founder Harry Wilson and son Jonathan, as well as the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Johanna Ropner, Commodore Phillip Waterhouse, the Naval Regional Commander for the North, Jacob Young MP for Cleveland and Redcar, The Mayor of Teesside, Ben Houchen and the director of the Northern Powerhouse, Henri Murison.

UK Docks Harry Wilson, who founded the family-run company in 1995 and has developed it into a national and international company, said: “We were honoured that the navy wanted to celebrate its links to Teesside and the North-East with this reception.

“It was the proudest moment of my career, for UK Docks to secure a major Royal Navy contract which brought work and business to the North-East, safeguarding and increasing jobs in the region.

“We take our responsibilities incredibly seriously as a company in terms of what we do, so it was music to our ears to hear how well the crew and the vessel had performed in the Arctic.

“We made a commitment to the Royal Navy when we won this contract against stiff opposition to produce work of the highest calibre – exceptional work they would expect as a matter of course – and it’s pleasing that we have clear evidence of this.

“We look forward to developing our relationship with the Navy and wish it well in its efforts to build its links with the communities of Teesside.”

Henri Murison, director of the business arm of Northern Powerhouse, said: “This is a fantastic story of an innovative and ambitious North East company bringing major and prestigious work to the region.

“It was great to see how successful this relationship between the navy and UK Docks has been and the desire by everyone involved to make this a very long-term relationship, supporting jobs and industry in the north.”

HMS Protector is with UK Docks for the next month undergoing a routine service before it heads off to Antarctica to patrol British overseas territories, including the 1.7m square kilometres of Antarctica that the UK has claim to.

It will represent those interests, as well as doing surveying work and supporting the work of the British Antarctic survey team.

Pictured above: UK Docks Managing Director Harry Wilson, UK Docks Director Jonathan Wilson, Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen and MP for Redcar and Cleveland Jacob Young

Million-pound investment for UK Docks’ River Tees ship repair yard as landmark cranes arrive

UK DOCKS has continued to invest in its Teesside ship repair facility with the purchase of two Nelcon dockside cranes from the Port of Workington.

The two cranes - landmarks in the North West town for the past three decades - are now set to become a prominent part of the River Tees skyline and will greatly enhance the speed and efficiency of work being carried out in the company’s two dry docks on the south bank of the river.

Each crane has a safe working load of 30 tonnes at 10 metres and 12 tonnes at 28 metres and they will support the work of cranes currently in operation.

The arrival of the giant cranes, which weigh 230-tonne each and were originally built in Rotterdam, Holland, has been an engineering achievement in itself.

After being removed from their established positions in Workington, they were loaded onto the Terra Marique barge by self-propelled modular transporters, (SPMT’s), and shipped 927 nautical miles before arriving on the Tees where they were offloaded and manoeuvred into place on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

The cranes, still emblazoned with the words ‘Port of Workington’, were fully refurbished in 2009 and represent a major investment in a yard which had lain derelict for more than 30 years before UK Docks brought it back into operation in 2014.

It took two years for UK Docks, which operates a string of ship repair yards around England’s coast, to restore the Tees facility to working order.

But now the docks are flourishing with ice patrol ship HMS Protector currently dry-docked in No2 dock and the Svitzer-owned tug, the Svitzer Vidar docked in No 1 dock. 

HMS Echo, the Ministry of Defence multi-role hydrographic survey ship, is also due to berth alongside in the coming days for her bi-annual maintenance period and the Nelcon cranes will have important roles to play in all three contracts

UK Docks' director, Jonathan Wilson, said: “It is very satisfying to have had the cranes successfully transported and reassembled and we want to thank everyone involved for their expertise and professionalism. 

“The move represents a seven-figure investment in our Teesside facility and one worth making as the docks continue to improve their working capacity.

“We have bought the two cranes outright and they will be invaluable in facilitating the work

required on what is a full order book.

“New foundations and crane tracks have had to be installed to ensure their stability and

with them being such sizeable constructions, a lot of care and engineering skill had to go into their deployment.

“But the effort is worth it because it will now give us two additional cranes with increase

capacity operating alongside each other servicing both docks and that will make a major difference to our efficiency and speed in processing future contracts on the Tees.”

Successful 12 months for local family ship repair business

HMS Protector, PSV Hellespont Dawn, PSV Hellespont Daring undergoing repairs

During 2019 UK Docks has enjoyed a busy year over all in its operations, including venturing into new market sectors.

UK Docks were successful in competitively securing a significant contract that started on the 1st April, from the Ministry of Defence, to provide in service support and annual maintenance for HMS Protector, HMS Echo and HMS Enterprise in order to maintain availability for 334 days per year.

During the past nine months the contract has been controlled from our newly built Head Office facility based in South Shields which was completed during February 2019. The new management team comprising of an Operational Manager, Vessel Managers, IT Manager, a Logistics & Procurement team and technical administrators operate from there.

In addition to the office facility a new warehouse facility was constructed to store a comprehensive volume of spares which are stored and maintained to ensure UK Docks can process demands for defects as they occur in order to maintain availability of the platforms.

Jonathan Wilson, Director at UK Docks, said: “During 2019 we planned, managed and coordinated all maintenance activity from our facilities on Tyneside. In conjunction with our Teesside facility we delivered maintenance packages as well as relying on our approved supply chain for work overseas. We are proud to bring this scale of work to the local area and are positive that during the 10-year contract we can continue our growth”

Jonathan added: “The Ministry of Defence naturally requires the highest possible levels of expertise and commitment when it comes to servicing its vessels. Throughout 2019, we have assembled a management team and a strategy to deliver on their expectations, which we are proud to say have been successful throughout the year. We are very pleased with everyone’s efforts and commitment this year and are ready to take the next steps throughout 2020 to continue to grow and progress.”

UK Docks ship repair facility in Middlesbrough has continued to develop throughout the year by extending the main office facility, stores facility, plumbing workshop and steel workshop facilities. During January 2020, two 30 tonne cranes will be delivered and installed between the two dry docks to improve the yards operational ability. In addition, the yard expanded their alongside wet berth repair facilities with the addition of the Heavy Lift Quay which runs adjacent to the dry docks entrance and measures 150 metres ong and benefits from deep water access.

UK Docks slipways and lift out facilities based in Tyneside, Gosport and Cremyl which specialise in providing support to commercial vessel operators such as BAE Systems, Babcock, Serco. The Ministry of Defence have been in continuous operation and occupancy throughout the year. During 2020, UK Docks will see further expansion in the opening of Royal Clarence Yard based in Gosport. Spanning 5.7 acres with direct deep-water access to Portsmouth Harbour, the site offers huge opportunities for future development within the marine sector.

HMS Protector Currently Undergoing Maintenance In Charleston, USA.

UK Docks are now six months in to their recently awarded 10-year contract with the UK Ministry of Defence providing ship maintenance and through life support management services for the marine survey vessels HMS Protector, HMS Echo and HMS Enterprise.

HMS Protector (IMO 9233799) is currently undergoing a maintenance package in Detyen’s Shipyard in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. This is the second maintenance package in six months which UKD have scoped, planned and managed under the new contract.

The original maintenance period was scheduled to be carried out in Chille, South America but due to operational reasons a change in location was required which involved a huge amount of re-organisation at short notice in order to carry the works at another location.

In the main, the work scope included a number of class repairs, a 20,000hrs overhaul of one of the Rolls-Royce Bergen BRM/G 8 Main Engines, inspection and repairs to the coatings in one of the fresh water tanks, cleaning and surveying of the fuel tanks, repairs and maintenance to the  starboard anchor capstain and port aft rope winch, maintenance and upgrades to the ships electrical equipment and various mechanical systems, pipework systems and accommodation upgrades. In addition, the entire vessel was fresh water washed from the mast to the waterline followed by paint coating repairs to the hull, decks and accommodation structure.

The maintenance package is due to complete late November where the vessel will carry out comprehensive sea trials after which it will continue with its onward passage.